Nu'u Mexican — Restaurant in Sydney

2025: Under the watchful eye of Frida Kahlo, a monkey and her cat in an otherwise empty dining room, we gave Nu’u by Nativo another whirl. The lure was a well-priced chef’s picks menu ($65/head) and free BYO. With wine markups on the rise, it was a welcome way to make dining out on a Wednesday night very affordable. The menu strips the workday from your palate using bright chilli and fresh lime in the salmon aguachile ($18), scooped out onto freshly made corn tostadas. The tacos here are a standout, with the aroma of charred hand-made tortillas preceding them up the stairs. Their signature birria tacos ($22/2) centres upon long strands of slow cooked brisket, dried Mexican chillies and spices balanced by salsa verde, coriander and onion.

Somewhat ridiculously, you can choose a main apiece from a list of three dishes. Enfrijoladas de barbacoa presented another house-made tortilla stuffed with oozing cheese under black beans with slices of tender lamb rump. It was so good we ate it all, then struggled to do justice to the carne asada (sliced sirloin) that arrived slightly after. Drizzled with chichilo (one of the seven moles of Oaxaca), chive oil and mole verde (green mole), it was good but eclipsed by the lamb. Fat slices of flan ($14/each) rounded out our meal, with the creamy baked caramel custard spiked with Oaxacan cacao liqueur. Book in fast if you want to try this offer: there are only two Wednesdays left in March.

2024: Oaxacan food in a mezcal bar in Glebe? Colour me excited! While we dived straight into quaffing mezcal from carved bowls (jicara) made from calabash (pumpkin) rinds, mezcalinas are a gateway to loving this diverse spirit. The cocktails each highlight flavours in their chosen mezcal. For me, the herbal profile of Maria Sabina ($23) with cucumber, ginger, basil and smoked rosemary shone. My dining companion liked the salt-rimmed Juana Cata ($23) showing citrus with tamarind, lemon peel & agave worm. In the straight mezcal, 5 Sentidos Arroqueño by Tio Pedro ($28) was smoky and vegetal, while De Leyendas ‘coyote’ ($26%) spoke of candy & cacao. Sadly, from a list of just six mezcal, some were unavailable.

No matter, Manuel Diaz’s dishes are easily Sydney’s most exciting Mexican offering to date. Earthy, nutty mole spread over corn tortilla stuffed with shredded chook—enmolada ($19)—cut by watercress and grated queso fresco, made me want to weep. Bright lime and mezcal vapours makes toloache ($26) ceviche of diced prawn, snapper & creamy avocado, a good contrast. Bone marrow beans and chilli-marinated pork are piled onto a disc of grilled maize dough under leafy greens & grated cheese in the round and savoury memela del mercado ($23). For a bright burst of heat, tetela ($18)—a grilled maize triangle stuffed with slow-cooked pig—sits on a tangy salsa molcajete (salsa in a stone mortar). Try a heavier Oaxacan salsa, pasilla, made using chipotle and adobo with the al pastor (pork) skewers ($24).

With the only dessert, Oaxacan flan ($14) sold out, we ended our meal with snapping-fresh smoky green beans and crumbled chorizo—ejotes ($12)—chorizo and cocktails. Drink service, even in the tiny space, lags behind the kitchen so order before you finish your current drink. From the house list, the habanero-rimmed spicy Margarita ($21) is genuinely spicy; the smoky jaguar ($23) with whisky, black tea, pedro ximinez & honey came up tasting like fancy cola to me. Service is the only hole at Nu'u by Nativo: ineffective communication with the kitchen allows its frenetic pace to overwhelms table real estate (and the diner) and food to go cold. Eat here anyway: just order...

One of the worst dinner experiences I have had, went to Nu’u yesterday (oct 16th), I have decided to try one of this blind catch up to meet new people, couldn’t actually choose the place I was going, however I love to try new places even though was a Mexican restaurant and I don’t eat coriander, I know working as Chef that I would have some options, I’m not a picky eater. I have told the waitress about my allergy and to ask the chef what on the options we have picked witch one he could put coriander aside. Again, as being a chef I know how hard and sometimes annoying it is to accommodate some food allergies specially if you are busy, that was not the case cause for the whole night the restaurant only served 2 tables. I was informed that I could eat 2 of the options, the flank steak and the emoladas, the tacos we have order could easily being served at least one out of the six without the coriander sauce, the emoladas came with chopped coriander on top, the steak was ok but no seasoning at all…. Even the grilled brocollini had the coriander sauce that again, could be easily put aside. Very frustrating and 0 commitment to make the customer experience enjoyable, I believe that for a business it’s very important to attract new customers specifically having for the whole night only 10 people dining...

We walked in on a Thursday night and were lucky to find a table available. We ordered three different dishes to share, and each one brought something special to the table. The standout for me was the birria taco, topped with crispy pork belly—unexpected and absolutely delicious! Next, we tried the tamal, which was soft, flavorful, and very satisfying. We ended with the enmolada, and I’m still salivating thinking about it. Although they were out of the usual chicken filling, they improvised with another protein that worked incredibly well. If you love mole, or have been curious to try it, this is the place to go. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

And for drinks, I had the hibiscus mezcalina, and my friend had the tamarind one. The hibiscus was perfectly balanced 👌🏻 just the right amount of sweetness, alcohol, and no bitterness. The tamarind version had a spicy twist at the end, which was really interesting too. The staff was warm and welcoming, and the service was great. I’ll definitely be back and highly...